Clothes hamper



E. w. SEYMOUR CLOTHES HAMPER Filed July 19, .1951

May 12, 1953 INVENTOR. Eligabel'h WISeymour BY am,

Patented May 12, 1953 .CIZOYIHES HAMPER Q Elisabeth wuseymour,cantomxfihio cAml licafionfin'lyrlfi; 1951, .SerjalPNo. 237 584 examines-(o 8-12-'-29*i-) The invention relates toyeiothes' hampers; andmoreparticiiiarly to la hamper "having h'apremovr' able preferably fabrichas, insert .to facilitate theestora'ge and ',handiir giof jsoild'.c1o,thes.

"Usual types of clothes hampers having a .box-

like Structure with a topopeningslid must either be p'ioked and turnedIu'p side .down to enmity the hamper, or .th'ehousewifermust reach intovand intimately. to the bottom of the hamper and remove thenclothespiece'fby piece. flhi inyolxzes bending or stooping and reaching to the.bottc'i'm of the hamper to removethe clothes, whioh 41s diffioult Landti-ring .for .a Woman. Sometimes ,in

depositing or removingnsoiled ;e1othes in northernthe usual -clothes,.hamper, the: clothes :and pa-r tieularly fragile 'artic1esimay .hesnagged or tom on an internally projecting part of the hamper. In order.to overcome these .d-ifiiculties and i-to provideotheriadvantagesfluhave :oombined with a Imoc'iifiegi ieonventionalhamper ielement atop opening Cloth bag eontainer suspended at lathe topof two of its side walls on a collapsibl eiframe whichemayibe.v-inserted i-nto rand :removed item the hamper element.

the (hampervelementr The hamper and frame are ,formed with,intenengaging imeansehy -whioh the may be supported-at anupper ,l-evelat: the 1 upper endirof and ,above :the happier element to provideconvenient access :to the bag for ithe' removal 'of. soiled relothestherefrom-:withogut' hendingiorgstoopingzor reaohingeto the bnttomvpft}Ae'oord n ly, itlis a general ohjectofithe pres- V en't in'vention toprovide. an improved xi'lothes.

hamper poeonstiiuotion whic'hwmay' Joe emptied,

without stoppin bending lor reaching to the loottom of the hammer ielement when Arestinguon the Fiifthermore; it is an object of "the 1present i invention to provide a;1n'ew"c 1othes hamper eonstflmtionmeiu-ding a -removab1e cloth bag Suspenddon *a 'co'ilapsibl-eframe'wh'ie'h" maybe suphi-ted *at "the top of "the hamper element whentheqatte'r resting-pmth "fi'oo'r to facilitate the easy and 'tireiessremovai "and sorting of :Jsoil'edl clothes-from thebag;

Also, it is an object of the presentinventionm providea new elotheshamper "oonstrudtionflinclueing azremovabieeloth'bag eiem'entsu'shendeflona eoflapsioie name which may he removed iromwhe hamper element;andgmoved item-plane to place inmollecting i'so'iledxolothes, and "whichb e-element ,Tikewis'e "may he lremovedijirom tithe anwearrie'cl to thelaundry "in the basement" or 2' other iooations "in the home "inconnection with laimder' ing'trfesoiiedelotiies.

furthermore, it"iis an objeot'of' the present invefit'ion to provide anew clothes hamper TCOII stiuetionzinciudine a removable cloth 'b'ag'eremen}; which may be removed fr m th h mper" element when filled withsoiled clothes andyuti: lizedas a laundry bag. for shipment to ,a.com'-me'rcialiauntlrjy.

Finally, it is an object of "the-present 'i'l'WIl t'io'n to provide,anew clothes hamper construe tion inoludingha removable cloth bagelement which permits adequate .yentilation of the hamper :parts, whichislightin weight, which has substantially the sametoapao'itypas the pa.-

pacity of ",the hamper element, which may "be" manufacturedinexpensively, ..and which; when associated with .a hamper element,overcomes difficulties, solves existing problems in the and has thedescribed oharacteristics iand1a'd vantages.

These and ot'her objects .and sad-Iantages, nap.- panent Ito.those...skil'led linithe vart from the fol lowingijdescripti'onandaolaims, (may be obtained,

theStatedHresults achieved and .the .descnitied difli'ou'lt'ies overcomeby 1-the \construetion, roombinations, sub-combinations, arrangements,devices, ,elements pand pants .-,whieh comprise :the

present ihvention theinature of which ts set' forth the Afollowing.generatstatement, ppmferredembodiment sof whidh--i11 ustrati;v e 10f thebest mode in .rapplicant (has -.o0ntemp1ated applying the -prinoiplesisset Eiorth in the-jolngfles iption and {Shown v"in the --;dizawines andwhich are distinctly ;-and partioulanly pointed ontv andviset fforth :inthe amended zolaims forminga. part hereof.

Thenature pithe-qdiscoteries anti vimpm le ments of 117118 presentinvention mayzbe stated in general-terms including gin iclothes ehamn rcnnstruotior ea i-box-Jike hampergelem m Meierablyrhavingatqpiopeningiid jfabniczbag shaped;

wlb-e ireceived W hin and "to zeonform xcieseimo hg h it QP-" ithezhamper lement.

v (315' may of exam-pie, aipreferrediembodimentof the improved clotheshamper construction is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming apart hereof wherein:

Figure l is a front vertical sectional view of a clothes hamperconstruction incorporating the improvements of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side vertical sectional View of the hamper shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating the cloth bag elementsupported by the collapsible frame at. the top of the hamper element;and M Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the cloth bag element andcollapsible frame therefor removed from the hamper element.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the various figuresof the drawing.

In accordance with the present invention a usual type of clothes hamperis utilized which may be made of wood, metal, wood and'wicker, or metaland wicker. In the drawing a conventional wood and wicker hamper elementis generally indicated at I having feet 2 which rest on the floor andthe top of the hamper may be provided with a hinged lid 3. Thisconventional hamper is modified in accordance with the present inventionby mounting cleats, rests or projections 4 on the hamper element sideWalls adjacent the top ends thereof for a purpose to be later described.

A cloth bag element generally indicated at 5 is located within thehamper element I conforming generally to the internal configuration ofthe hamper I. The bag 5 is supported on a collapsible X-frame generallyindicated at 6, the frame preferably comprising rectangular framemembers I centrally pivoted at 8 thus forming a pivoted X-frame havinglower cross members 8 and upper cross members Ill. The cross members lmay be formed inward to facilitate grasping the frame when removing thesame from the hamper.

The X-frame 6, as shown, may be formed of fiat strip metal and welded toprovide continuous frame sections, or may be similarly formed of otherlight weight metal section such as wire rod, metal tubes or channelbars; or it may be made in any other suitable Way of any desiredmaterial such as wood strips.

The bag is secured to the X-frame 6 by engaging fiaps I I over the upperframe cross members I0. The flaps II are preferably formed of fabric incontinuation of the side walls of the bag 5 and when engaged over thecross members I0 the flaps may be secured to the side walls by snapfasteners generally indicated at I2, or by buttoning, or in any othersuitable manner.

If desired, a pocket may be formed on one or more of the side walls ofthe fabric bag 5 by stitching a separate piece of fabric at three edgesto the bag side wall, as indicated at [3 in Fig. 4.

The clothes hamper normally is located in its usual place in the homewith the elements I, 5 and 6 thereof assembled and associated in themanner shown in Fig. l. Soiled clothes may be deposited from time totime in the bag element 5 in the usual manner merely by opening the lid3. If desired, the X-frame 6 and the bag element 5 supported thereby maybe removed from the hamper element 1 at any time by lifting upward Thusthe bag 5 supported by frame 6,

each of which is light in weight, may be carried -vides manyadvantageous features in use.

4 grasped by the hands and the X-f'rame 6 and bag 5 then may be liftedto the position shown in Fig. 3, at which location, upon releasing theframe, the lower frame cross members 9 spread apart and engage thehamper cleats 4 and thus support the X-frame 6 at the top of the hamperelement l projecting upward therefrom with the bag element 5 supportedthereby. In this position of the bag element 5 the soiled clothestherein may be removed readily without bending or stooping, by anyperson merely by reaching into the bag from a standing position.

Thus, the bag may be readily emptied without stooping and the soiledclothes may be sorted as removed if desired. During such sorting step,fragile articles such as stockings, lingerie and the like may bedeposited in the pocket l3; or such articles may be pro-sorted byplacing them in the pocket I3 when initially depositing them in thehamper.

. If more convenient for the housewife, the bag 5 may be removed fromthe hamper and X-frame and carried as such, filled with soiled clothes,to the home laundry for laundering the clothes.

As a further alternative, if the soiled clothes are to be laundered at acommercial laundry, the snaps I2 may be released and the bag 5 removedfrom the X-frame 6 whereupon the snaps on one flap ll may be engagedwith the fasteners at the other side of the bag to provide the laundrybag for transporting the soiled clothes to the commercial laundry.

Since the bag and X-frame elements 5 and 6 are both very light inweight, they add little weight to the weight of the clothes in liftingthe X-frame 6 to the position shown in Fig. 3, or in transporting soiledclothes therein from place to place.

The X-frame 6 can be formed to fit within any size of conventionalclothes hamper and can be readily associated with an existing clotheshamper merely by equipping the hamper element I with the cleats 4.

The improved clothes hamper construction pro- The hamper may beemptiedwithout stooping or bending over or reaching to the bottom of the hamperelement. This makes sorting much easier when done at the-hamper. Thebottom of the bag element'when in raised position is within easy armreach and is more readily visible than the bottom of the hamper element.The capacity of the conventional hamper is not reduced to anysubstantial degree. The cloth bag permits adequate ventilation of g thesoiled clothes in the hamper. The cloth bag protects clothes depositedtherein from being snagged or torn on internal surfaces of the hamperelement. The cloth bag can be removed from the X-frame and washed forkeeping the same in a clean and sanitary condition. The frame and bagcan be removed readily and placed in other rooms as a collectingreceptacle. The cloth bag can be removed and used as a laundry bag totransport the clothes either to the home laundry or to a commerciallaundry.

Accordingly. the present invention provides many new improvements inclothes hamper construction having the advantages and characteristicsdescribed, provides for the convenient emptying of a clothes hamperwithout bending or stooping or reaching to the bottom of the.

hamper element, avoids the possibility of injury ing and generallyfacilitates the handling of soiled clothes.

The embodiment of the present invention illustrated and described hereinis by way of example, and the scope of the invention is not limited tothe exact details of construction of the various parts illustrated.

Finally, in the foregoing description, certain terms have been used forbrevity, clearness and understanding; and no unnecessary limitations areto be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art,because such words are used for descriptive purposes herein and not forthe purpose of limitation, and are intended to be broadly construed.

Having now described the features of the invention, the construction anduse of a preferred embodiment thereof, and the advantageous, new anduseful results obtained thereby; the new and useful devices,arrangements, constructions, combinations, sub-combinations, elementsand parts, and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious tothose skilled in the art, are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a box-like clothes hamper having an access opening inthe top thereof, an X-frame including two frame members each having anupper'and a lower cross member connected by parallel side members, saidside members of said frame members being pivotally connectedintermediate the ends thereof, a fabric bag suspended within the X-frameby side flaps thereof engaged over the upper frame cross members, saidX-frame and bag removably supported within the hamper, and cleatslocated within the upper ends of the hamper and engageable with thelower cross members of the X-frame to selectively support the X-frame inan elevated position in said hamper.

2. In combination, a box-like clothes hamper provided with an accessopening in the top thereof, a frame member having pairs of upper andlower cross members thereon, said frame member removably supportedentirely within said hamper, an open-ended fabric bag having side wallsand a bottom therein, flap portions extending beyond two opposed sidesof the bag at the open end thereof to engage over the upper crossmembers of said frame suspending said bag within said frame, cooperativedetachable fasteners on said flap portions and the bag side wallsengageable to secure said bag in its suspended position, a double sidewall structure on one portion of said bag forming an auxiliary pockettherein, and

cleats on the inner walls of said hamper adjacent the top thereofengageable with the lower cross members of the frame to selectivelysupport said frame in an elevated position in said hamper to extendthrough the access opening therein.

ELIZABETH W. SEYMOUR.

